Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-02-05

il, some of this organic matter is OF ami
NAL origin, which is usually recognized as
polluting; but when we say that soil is
polluted we mean that it contains sui
ficient quantity of such matter to make
the fact easily recognizable without having
recourse TO delicate chemical or micro
scopical tests As a rule, a polluted soil
communicates to water passing through 1t,
or to the air above it, either organic matter
in state of decomposition or some OF the
products of such decomposition. The ex-
ceptions to this are few, and occur chiefly
in connection with the waste products OF
certain manufactures = such as alkall
waste, for example, which gives OIL
sulphureted hydrogen.
The forms of soil pollution which are OF
the most practical importance are those due
to the deposit of decaying garbage and offal
the teaching or soakage of excrementltlous
matter from cesspools, prlvy-yaults, ETC., or
from the surface of streets.
The effects of soil pollution vary greatly
according to the season OF the year, the
amount of moisture pi esent, the use made
OF the contaminated subsoil water, and,
most of all, upon the character of the mi
cro-organisms which live and flourish in
the organic matter. In the majority OF
cases these micro-organisms are OF kind
that do good work in decomposing such
matters and in sterilizing their vicinity by
giving out products which are poisonous to
other and more dangerous forms of bacte-
rial life. The greater the proportion OF air
in the soil, the more porous and the drier 1t
is, within certain limits, the more active are
these harmless micro-organisms and the
more quickly and thoroughly will they do
the work of publication. a certain amount
of moisture is necessary for them, for abso-
lutte dryness puts u stop to all growth of
bacteria, even If it does not destroy their
life.
When, to polluted soil, certain forms of
bacteria capable of producing specific dis
ease gain access, under favorable conditions
for their growth, we have soil infection pro-
duced. The specific diseases which may
be connected with specific soil infections
are not yet well known, but there IS good
reason for thinking that anthrax, cholera,
typhoid fever ard yellow fever belong
to this class, and in one sense malarial
fevers belong to the same category.
The infection of soil is produced by
bringing in contact with it the excretions
of those affected with specific diseases, or
by burying in it The bodies of living beings
who have died from such diseases. Hence
the danger that soil will become infected
is proportionate to its liability to pollution
with excreta, for where sewage which is
not specifically dangerous goes is the place
where the dangerous sewage is most likely
to go.
A soil may be polluted for months or
years without being infected, but it is al
ways liable TO infection, and in many cases
it produces discomfort, nuisance and even
disease, when it cannot produce specific
disease
The prevention of soil pollution in the
vicinity of human habitations is one of
the most important branches of municipal
hygiene. What is to be done with soil
already polluted is a question which we
will discuss hereafter.